Bella's Backpackers Hostel

I stayed for 5 days in a four-person room with our own bathroom which is convenient if you want a little comfort. The rooms are cleaned every day which is good but the kitchen isn't... The activities organized by the hostel are fun but Sunday Fun Day is expensive/ a real cash machine for them. We didn't want to pay the asking price so we went elsewhere on the island with other people from the hostel and had a great time. I have visited several hostels around the world but this one is very money-oriented and aims to extract as much money as possible from visitors. The bar and the hostel belong to the same owner yet you don't pay the same bank fee when you pay by card at the bar or at the reception. It starts with the online booking where you are required to pay a deposit for certain activities, and of course a transaction fee applies (and I think that's why it's no longer available on Booking.com). Even if you don't select anything because you want to decide later you still have to pay a deposit for the activities. The kitchen is nice but I was surprised by the lack of equipment. 4 forks 3 spoons and 2 pots for a 60-bed hostel seems a bit sparse to me. If you make coffee you have to remove the coffee pot from the stove with your hands because there is nothing to hold hot items... I think that with the money the hostel makes, it could afford to have more equipment. The discount if you stay at Bella in San Ignacio before or after is attractive, and the experience is completely different. There is a lot of trash around the property and near the hostel bar. Some of the trash comes from Sunday Funday and blows into the water with the wind. They should find a solution to limit trash/confetti in the water (at least what comes from their activities).

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t stay here again. There are definitely some positives: The kitchen is very well equipped — oven, microwave, kettle, rice cooker — really great setup. There are also lots of hammocks around the property, and you can sit in the bar area without having to order anything, which I liked. However, the fridge is way too small for the number of guests. It’s honestly something that urgently needs improvement but it also has been mentioned earlier and there hasn't been any improvement at all. The outdoor space is open and nice, but inside the dorms there is zero privacy. The 11 beds are all connected in different ways without proper separation or doors. Curtains between beds would already make a big difference. WiFi barely works because too many people are connected. Downstairs are 3 cold showers and only 2 warm ones. No towels or cloths in the kitchen to clean up after yourself. The hostel activities were poorly organized. For example, we wanted to join the pub crawl — one flyer said 8:30, another board (which was already removed at 7pm) said 9pm. Nobody knew where or when to meet. A simple WhatsApp group like other hostels use would solve this. A lot of printed information around the hostel is outdated (e.g. massage offers). Laundry costs between 15, 25, or 35 Belizean Dollars depending on size. Sunday Funday is heavily advertised, and there are rumors it sells out quickly, so many people book online. However, if you book directly at reception and give your room number, it’s much cheaper. Also important: you don’t need to stay here to participate — the island is small enough to join while staying elsewhere, and direct access from the hostel is closed anyway. Quiet hours are enforced in terms of music being turned off, but guests keep talking and because the building is very noisy, it’s still loud. Additionally, the bar next door often plays louder music than the hostel itself. The staff is friendly but somewhat distant. Overall, I didn’t feel very comfortable and wouldn’t recommend staying here.

My daughter and I came here for Sunday Funday, which starts at 2 PM, but people were trickling in at all times. When we walked in, there was unlimited rum punch and shots constantly available at the bar – a great perk! They had fun games set up including volleyball, beer pong, and Jenga. We even went out on a boat and floated in the ocean for sunset, which was absolutely beautiful. The DJ was amazing with great music all day long. They organized really fun challenges throughout the event – my daughter and I participated in the no-hands watermelon eating challenge, which was hilarious! The staff members were super fun and energetic. The vibe was amazing, and the people there were a blast to hang out with. It was definitely a great way to end the week! Highly recommend if you’re looking for a fun, lively Sunday experience!

We had an ok stay at Bella’s. We booked it and had heard terrible things but the rooms weren’t as bad as we thought. We were in a 4 bed though, we looked at the 12 beds and they did look very rough. I think the biggest problem for us was the staff. Every time we went to the desk with a question they would be more focused on their phones or just not helpful at all. We heard amazing things about Sunday Funday and honestly… it was disappointing. They basically shut off the back of the hostel where the majority of the seating is and have Beer pong and Jenga (this is there the other 6 days of the week except on Sunday it’s exclusive for Sunday funday) they give you unlimited rum punch which is good but the boat trip lasted maybe 90 minutes and they just rush you around and then bring you back to have a party in the hostel.. all that for $60 per person (the rum punch finishes after the boat so you have to pay for drinks after) I thought was a crazy amount of money.

Bella’s backpackers is the place to be. Such a unique experience with great people. The location is perfect. Make sure to book in advance so you can secure your spot. We loved it and wanted to extend but it was full. We can’t wait to come back!

Nice atmosphere, full of activities during the week. The staff was really nice. The private rooms didn’t match with the high prices. Just one bed and nothing more and they were pretty small. One recommendation: do not show to all of the guests the codes for locking EVERY kind of rooms. Because they let people taking pictures of all of them without keeping the proper control of what people really need. So the codes are potentially given to all the guests or the people coming to the reception. Also the general locker room for the luggages was always left opened

Nice social vibe amongst guests. Rooms are ok, would be better with curtains on bunks. Seems like everyone that has booked multiple nights has to change dorms so feels like something is off with the booking system. Would happily stay again as a hostel.

I stayed at Bella for a week and I can say that the staff have been friendly, the restrooms are clean, the showers are clean, and they have refreshed my cabin every thing I have requested. The staff is cleaning the facility every morning. There’s a lot of activities for the guests every night ranging from Sunday funday (the best) with the evening ending with a boat party, canoeing, and a dj. I would recommend to a friends and family, for sure